Little Pinion
by alesi257
Summary: Sonic thought Amy had been killed two years ago. But one day, he receives a strange and unexpected call from her! How will he and Tails react?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Don't forget to read chapters 5 and 6 of Miller's _Introduction to Physics_ for next class!" The Associate Professor's voice boomed over the crowd of first-year college students leaving the amphitheater. The noisy pack of young adults quickly dispersed in many different directions on campus, although most of them were intent on getting some dinner at the cafeteria. Among them were Derek the Toad and Tails the Fox, who were chatting excitedly about the professor's lecture.

"… cool class, eh?" Derek yapped as the two friends strolled around campus. "He's not the bestest professor around, but he sure knows his stuff, don't he?"

"I guess… but I already went over that stuff in high school. He's a bit boring really, if you ask me."

"Oh, yeah, totally! And, he's kind of ugly, too… I can't believe some of these girls keep going on about how _handsome_ he is! He's, like, three times their age! You'd think they'd be more interested in someone their age…"

Tails grinned; having met Derek on the first day of class, he had quickly found out his friend wouldn't ever shut up about girls. "You mean, someone like you?"

"Well, yeah," admitted Derek. "Mind you, some of our professors are actually really attractive… D'you know Professor Taft? She teaches audio technology… She's pretty sexy…"

Tails shrugged. Although already in college, he still wasn't all that interested in the opposite sex – whatever age they were. Last year, an assertive vixen had pressured him into a date, only to find out Tails forgot to show up because he was watching a documentary about the electromagnetic spectrum.

Enrolled as an "undecided" major in the science department, Tails had just started his studies at the University of Mobotropolis. At 17 years of age, he was a year younger than most of his peers, which was surprising given that he had missed much of public school when he had been training as a soldier under the wing of his best friend Sonic. Upon going back to public school, however, he was so gifted he was able to catch up quickly with his peers and passed his baccalaureate a year ahead of everybody, acing all his science finals in the process.

Physics 101 was Tails' last class of the day, ending at 6pm; not hungry yet and resolved to starting his homework, Tails headed for his dorm by himself after Derek left to meet some friends at the cafeteria. After a few minutes' walk around the campus, Tails spotted the back of a blue hedgehog standing near the dorm's entrance: it was his friend Sonic, who, Tails deduced, had come to pay him a visit. After all, he wouldn't have any other reason to come to campus, and he knew where Tails' dorm was located, having helped him move in on the first day of school.

"Hey, Sonic!" Tails shouted, excitedly running up to meet him. "What's up? How're you doing?"

"Tails, Amy just called," Sonic said immediately and seriously.

Tails dropped his grin and did a sort double take. "What? Amy? Amy Rose?"

"Yeah."

Tails thought Sonic had to be kidding. "She _called_ you? On the phone? When?"

"Just now. 30 minutes ago."

"But… That's impossible! Are you certain it was Amy?"

"I'm positive."

"But Sonic… Amy's dead! How could it have been her? What did she say?"

"She said she was in trouble with the police in a city called Harver. And we need to fly there to pick her up."

Tails couldn't believe this. "Harver… Harver in Servinia? But it's like, more than a thousand miles… Sonic, how do you know it was her? Did you recognize her voice?"

Sonic made a gesture of impatience. "Okay, she didn't actually say anything because she couldn't talk at all, but I know it was her. We can talk about that later – right now, we need to get the Tornado ready so we can go pick her up. We have a rendezvous with her on a small street tomorrow night."

Tails was trying to think fast. Obviously, Sonic was anxious to leave as soon as possible, but something just didn't add up. "Okay Sonic, please, I need you to hear me out. I see you want to rescue Amy, but there's something really sketchy about all this. You're saying that Amy just called you, even though she's supposed to have been dead for years, and asked you to meet her tomorrow night in Harver… and that she was in trouble with the police… but she didn't actually say anything?"

"Well, basically, yeah… but it was still her. It was hard to communicate but we found a way."

"But don't you think that's a bit sketchy? Why couldn't she talk? Don't you think it's some kind of prank call or even a trap set for you?"

"I think she just lost her voice. We'll figure it out when we find her. Look buddy, I know it was her. I just _know_ it. I just have this gut feeling."

Tails paused for a second. He could definitely see how emotional and determined Sonic was over this whole business. Tails also felt tearful at the chance Amy could still be alive, but he tried to remain as level-headed as possible about the situation. "Okay, Sonic, I'm really sorry for telling you this, but… You know… I just think you're not thinking clearly about this. I mean, I think – in general, I mean – you've always been very hard on yourself about Amy's death, and so…"

"So what? What does this have to do with her call?" Sonic was getting annoyed; it seemed to him Tails was just stalling for whatever reason.

"But this could be some kind of trap! Maybe the people who took revenge upon her know we were her friends and want some further revenge or something…" Sonic and Tails had always believed Amy to have been murdered by relatives of two world-famous mercenaries killed by Amy during a battle a few months prior to her two-year-old disappearance. "If you didn't hear Amy speak, you don't know if it was really her!"

"Okay," Sonic said quickly, "I don't really see this as a reason for not going. If this is a small chance that she's alive and we can find her, than we should just go there, even if it might be a trap!"

"Don't you think we should investigate a little before going?"

"Dude, how would we do that?" Sonic asked, shaking his head feverishly. "We'd be wasting time, we're supposed to meet Amy tomorrow night!"

"Okay. Okay, let's just pause for a second. There's gotta be a way we can investigate. You said Amy told you – somehow – that she was in trouble with the police?"

"Yeah, and that's why we should come right away."

"Then – then there's gotta be a recent police record about her. In Harver, I mean. At the local police station. If we find that file, we'd know a bit more about the situation and so we'd be much better prepared."

"But – that could take days! How on earth would we get that file? It would also be dangerous – the police is looking for her, remember? She's trying to get away from them!"

"No, I have an idea. There might be a way to get that file quickly without the Harver police noticing it. We'd need Brad's help – remember he works for a human rights NGO called 'Police International'?"

"Yeah, okay…" Though older by almost ten years, Brad was a good friend of Sonic's and Tails's.

"So you know, his NGO basically evaluates all police departments in the different countries and then rates them on a scale for their human rights record. I think Brad worked on Servinia and the other countries from that region of the world. And he's traveled, met policemen around those places, and he said often he became great friends with them, and they sometimes gave him some secret information for his reports. Maybe he knows one in Harver who could be willing to covertly scan and email Amy's file without anyone knowing. We could go see Brad right now. It's worth a shot, right?"

Sonic sighed. This idea seemed a bit far-fetched, and he wanted to leave. At the same time, he couldn't argue against the fact that having that police file would help them know what they were dealing with. "Okay. Okay, you're right, except that if we can't do it by, say, 9pm, we should leave anyway, okay?"

"Okay, cool. That sounds good. I mean of course I do want to find Amy if she's alive. If by 9 our hands are still empty, we'll go and we'll just be really careful once we're in Harver." Secretly, Tails kept his fingers crossed; he definitely feared Amy's former enemies, and really hoped that Brad would help them clarify the situation.

Sonic and Tails immediately left for Brad's apartment. The fox didn't even bother to leave at his dorm his backpack, still filled with his physics books; the two friends simply rushed towards downtown Mobotropolis, hoping to grasp what might be their chance to find Amy for the first time since her disappearance and presumed death.

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End of Prologue.

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Introductory notes for Little Pinion.

(If you don't want to read the notes but just move on, check out the quick summaries at the bottom of the page to know about the premise, then go ahead with chapter 2.)

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Hello, and thanks for reading the prologue. I'm putting the introductory notes after the prologue, because I wished to introduce the story with something a bit more engaging.

As you might have guessed from the prologue, there is a premise to Little Pinion; essentially, this story is a sort of sequel to my first story called Egregious Exile, which was a half-adventure, half-psychological drama story about Amy Rose. However, this is not a direct sequel: Amy's full adventure is really a trilogy, with Egregious Exile being the first part, but Little Pinion is the third part, not the second. I may never write the second part – I'll get into that in a second.

I do want to insist on the fact that you do not have to read Egregious Exile to read this story. Anyway, the bottom of this page includes a short summary of the end of Egregious Exile, plus one of the events in the second story. It's perfectly possible to enjoy Little Pinion without previous reading; however, you could still read Egregious Exile if you're interested in the details of what happened to Amy (or if you just enjoy adventures about Sonic and Amy Rose). The introductory chapter of Egregious Exile, in particular, tells her early life, which is somewhat close to Sega's and Archie's vision of the early Sonic-CD Amy.

Unlike Egregious Exile, Little Pinion is lighter and more fun, and available to all readers, not just teenagers and young adults. (Except for some profanity.) (I don't want to scare anyone about Egregious Exile, though: it's slightly dramatic and intense, but not gruesome by any means. Most teenagers can probably read it and relate to its spunky version of Amy's character.)

I labeled Little Pinion as comedy/drama: there are some dramatic elements, but they're about situations and characters that, I hope, teens and young adults may relate to. As for the humor, it's definitely not side-splitting humor; when I occasionally use humor, it's not really to "lighten up" the mood, but more to show how Amy's oddity as a character disrupts normal situations (usually in a funny way). There's also "natural" humor from all characters, who are mostly teens and young adults, and can make jokes or get into ridiculous situations.

I cannot write the second story now, because it is very intense, much more so than Egregious Exile. If I ever write it, only older readers will be interested. It's about hatred and revenge, and probably drug addiction, which I need strength to write; I'm also not sufficiently familiar with drug addiction to do the job now.

Now, I understand that the "fragile girl with the tragic past" premise for the protagonist (Amy) sounds cliché in fanfiction. Of course, I don't dispute it's a perfectly valid criticism. I'm trying not to dwell too much on the details of what happened before Little Pinion, but maybe I could add two things: I'm hoping Amy's "tragic past" aspect is not gratuitous in the sense that I develop it in my other (existing and future) stories; also, the fact that she's a girl is really not that crucial. For example in Egregious Exile, except for the fact she's in love with Sonic, Amy could've been either a girl or a boy.

Disclaimer: characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, or Amy Rose are owned by Sega. A few references in the story, such as planet Mobius, Mobotropolis, or the House of Acorn, come from the Archie Comics, although the story is not really based on their universe. Except for Nack the Weasel (owned by Sega), all the mercenaries in the story are my creation.

(I may update this in the future, depending on new minor characters in the story.)

Rating: "T" for some profanity.

Summary of the end of Egregious Exile:

You may remember that in Egregious Exile, which takes place somewhere called Ambrosia, Amy crosses the path of a married couple of famous mercenaries, Slug and Anya, who are working for Knuckles. Since Amy is monetarily indebted to them, Anya forces Amy to sign an employment contract of domestic service to the couple for an unlimited period. This almost works, except that Amy manages to slay the two mercenaries during a climactic scene; she then accompanies Sonic and Tails back home. She also grieves for the death of a friend she met in Ambrosia and who was murdered by Slug.

Summary of the events between Egregious Exile and Little Pinion.

In this second chapter of the trilogy, Amy crosses the path of Catherine, who is Anya's grieving sister and also a mercenary. While investigating her sister's death, Catherine finds the contract that Anya had forced Amy to sign. Since Ambrosia (where the contract had been signed) is considered "unexplored territory", it's under international law, which is still imperfect: therefore, Amy cannot be charged for murdering Slug and Anya; however, the contract is internationally valid, and it's still in effect because Catherine and her husband inherit of Slug's and Anya's resources as their last remaining relatives.

Using this pretext, Catherine kidnaps Amy and forces her to honor the contract of domestic service. Over the next two years, Amy lives at her boss' hideout/house. In practice, Catherine proves to be as mean and perverse as her dead sister. Deep down, Amy wants to rebel, but it's impossible because Catherine is much stronger physically and psychologically, to a point that Catherine even manages to forbid Amy to ever speak and express herself in any way. Of course, Catherine's character and her relationship to Amy are more complex than that, but that's the gist of it.

Catherine and her husband once leave home for two weeks, leaving Amy locked inside. She manages to free herself and set a trap. Catherine's return results in a climactic scene during which Amy succeeds in murdering her boss and her boss' husband. Although she leaves in a hurry, she stays behind long enough to find Anya's infamous contract and destroys it, while grabbing a firearm and a pile of cash that amounts to $300,000.

Little Pinion picks up shortly after Amy murdered her boss.


	2. A Visit at the Department Store

**2. A Visit at the Department Store**

Over the barren mounts of Servinia shone the peaceful light of the evening sun, dimmed by the filter of today's translucent clouds. Only the wind and the crows broke the arid land's virtual silence otherwise ensured by the environment's modest fauna. Located near the northern frontier with civilization, Servinia's hillside country was a sparsely populated area; save for a handful of unscrupulous mercenaries who used this deserted zone to establish their secret hideouts, few ever attempted to cross the hillside on foot. Today was an exception: 18-year-old Amy Rose was currently pacing through the downs' dry rocks, hoping to reach the nearest road and make her way to the provincial city of Harver.

Amy had been free since only two days, when she had murdered her boss Catherine. She had been living and working as a domestic servant for more than two years at Catherine's hideout in Servinia, but the experience had amounted to egregious and painful exploitation, legally justified by her employment "contract" (which she had signed under threat of torture). Catherine was a private mercenary, just like her wicked sister Anya, another former enemy of Amy's. A cruel woman, Catherine had forced Amy to live at her hideout and had brutalized her "employee" to the point of forbidding her to ever speak, laugh, cry, and even smile (all of which Amy had refrained from doing for the past two years). Two days ago, Amy had unexpectedly rebelled and murdered Catherine and Catherine's husband Richard; immediately after, she found and burned the infamous "contract" and set off for her journey home, which started with the closest city of Harver within three days' reach by foot.

Unfortunately, Amy had forgotten what "home" meant for her. Essentially, Catherine and Richard's house had been her home for more than two years. Before that, she had lived a month in the outskirts of Mobotropolis near her former friends Sonic and Tails; she had also spent several years in boarding school, to which she would never return. Amy determined her first step would be to at least try and reach Mobotropolis, where she could hopefully reunite with Sonic and Tails (although she hoped they hadn't forgotten her).

Her journey hadn't started well. Having had hardly any exercise in two years, she had little endurance. She was also not adequately equipped for a three-day-hike, not knowing how to prepare for it after two years of strictly domestic activities. The day was windy and fresh, and Amy was still wearing a flimsy dress, a cross between a maid's attire and a young girl's dress, that she previously had to wear as Catherine's servant. Fortunately, while rushing out the front door, Amy had at least traded her light slippers for the white sneakers worn by the dead Catherine; she guessed they would help her voyage on foot. Finally, Amy hoped she wouldn't cross the paths in Harver with either the authorities (she had just committed two murders) or with the dead couple's other mercenary friends who knew her. She gambled that the bodies wouldn't be discovered for at least a week, since the location of Catherine's hideout was a secret only known to a few friends of Catherine's and Richard's.

While her journey seemed precarious, Amy thought she had at least one advantage. When she had managed to open the safe containing her contract, she had also found an enormous pile of cash, which represented a small part of the mercenaries' fortune. Amy had had no hesitation to steal it: she didn't know how much money she would need for her journey, so she threw every single bundle in her knapsack. It now contained 30 wads of a hundred $100-bills each, which totaled her fortune to $300,000.

Her knapsack also carried a small firearm that she had grabbed for self-defense. It had been easy to obtain one, since Amy knew exactly where her boss kept her small armory and had found its key in Catherine's jacket after the murder.

It took her another day's walking to reach the city of Harver. Her feet were very tired, since she was a bit out of shape; with no shelter, the nights had been very difficult although it had thankfully not rained. Before entering the city, Amy found a stream to clean herself up; having committed murder, she wanted to attract as little attention as possible from the city crowd.

Unfortunately, she soon found out she was a bit conspicuous, due to her peculiar attire. Despite her minor hiking gear (sneakers and a knapsack), her juvenile dress caused pedestrians to wonder what she was doing alone outside of school during the day.

In order to remedy the situation, Amy thought she had best buy a more average outfit. Anyway, she wanted to get rid of her stupid dress she loathed for the mere fact that she had only worn it because of her hated boss. Amy found her way to the closest department store, hoping to find some trousers, a shirt or T-shirt, and perhaps a jacket.

Having located the store's nearly deserted clothing section, Amy frantically looked around for a pair of trousers. She finally stumbled upon a few racks laden with blue-jean trousers, which felt vaguely familiar to her. She hadn't worn blue jeans in so long, but suddenly remembered she liked doing so before working for Catherine.

"May I help you?"

Amy jumped. Staring at her was a tall woman in her early thirties. The woman looked kind and friendly, but also seemed somewhat surprised by Amy's behavior and appearance. She had essentially spotted Amy chaotically rummaging through the store's clothes. Also, except for the sneakers nicked from Catherine, Amy's clothing could suggest she was either a young adult stepping out of a play in which she played the role of a maid or of a child (it was unclear as to what Amy's outfit was supposed to suggest), or that she was a 12-year-old tall for her age who wanted to finally switch her juvenile attire for something more hip.

"Hi, my name is Anna," said the woman. Amy flinched – it sounded a bit too close to the distant but tormenting memory of 'Anya', but she would have to deal with it. "Is there something you were looking for?" asked Anna. "Maybe I can help you."

The feeling of being spoken to in such a way surprised Amy very much. For so long, the only people in her life had been Catherine and her husband, and occasionally their nasty mercenary friends, who had all treated Amy like she was a sub-person. This was the first time in more than two years that someone was treating Amy with respect. It tensed her, because she wasn't used to it anymore.

"Um, were you interested in a new pair of jeans?" said Anna when Amy forgot to answer her.

Amy tried as hard as she could to snap out of her surprise and give Anna an answer. She looked very quickly from Anna to the stand with blue jeans, then back to Anna, then back-and-forth between the two for a few times. She then wildly grabbed a random pair and held it out to hand it to Anna; the saleswoman was slightly stunned by Amy's promptness.

"Okay, let's see… Um, you know, this is a Size 14. The waist is 33 inches." Anna almost chuckled but managed to restrain it, because the girl looked rather nervous. "I think we can find something that's closer to your size. Tell me, do you know what your size is?"

Amy stared at Anna. For two years she had just worn whatever Catherine handed her, and she had never spent much time in clothing stores before anyway, so she had all but forgotten about sizes.

"Okay," said Anna, "um, it seems that you're not too sure. If you'll let me, I can measure your waist with a measuring tape," she suggested, pulling one out. Amy didn't know what that meant, but when Anna moved closer to encircle Amy's waist in the tape, Amy instinctively stepped back and brought out her hand, looking defensive.

Anna was clearly surprised. "Look, I just want measure your waist. This won't hurt at all, it's only a soft piece of plastic. It'll help me figure out what pair will fit you."

Amy frenetically shook her head. She only half-understood what Anna wanted to do, but she didn't want anyone touching her at all, especially if the person's name resembled "Anya" (which was currently the case).

"Well, it's fine, we can do without the measurements. You could just try on a few pairs to find one that fits you. I think I can guess what your size might be. Do you want something that's a bit loose, or that feels like it's closer to your legs?"

Amy had no idea what she preferred. She just wanted a random pair of trousers.

"Okay, maybe you can try on a classic 'relaxed fit' to start, and see if you like it? Let's see…" Anna quickly looked through another row of blue jeans and pulled out a pair. "I think you'll probably fit well in these. Do you want to try them on?"

Amy quickly nodded, then immediately started undressing so she could try them on.

"Whoa!" Anna exclaimed, surprised at Amy's peculiar behavior. Amy stopped undressing and looked at the saleswoman, alarmed that she might be doing something wrong, although she didn't know what it was. Anna nervously suggested: "um, perhaps you'd like to use the dressing room?"

Having not walked in a clothing store for years, Amy rattled her brains to understand that one – _what's a dressing room again?_

Anna couldn't possibly figure out why the girl was so confused. "I – I mean – we have dressing rooms so customers can try on clothes someplace private. Come with me, I'll show you one."

Amy felt a bit stupid. She had completely forgotten about the concept of privacy, because her boss never gave her any.

"Come with me, it's this way," Anna said kindly, holding out her hand (she now definitely thought Amy was just a shy 11 or 12-year old); yet Amy retreated her hands, not wanting to trust Anna too much. The saleswoman seemed surprised, but not too deterred. "Okay, just follow me if you prefer." Anna led her to the dressing room, where Amy pulled on the trousers over her dress.

"How do you like them?" asked Anna as Amy came out. "Do they fit you well?"

Amy nodded. They were just a bit large, but she didn't notice.

"Do you want to try another pair?"

Much to Anna's surprise, Amy shook her head.

"Are you sure? I'm sure I could find a pair that you might like better. There's a huge variety in jeans, and maybe you'd like a different cut." The girl didn't seem too knowledgeable in fashion, so Anna thought she should introduce her to some basic designs in jean trousers.

Amy shook her head firmly. She didn't care about the cut, but only wanted to find an outfit as quickly as possible and get out of this place, because she didn't trust anybody. She also started to feel that Anna was taking her for a simpleton.

"Okay, well, if you're sure… Follow me to the register then, okay?" Anna started walking to the register, but Amy stayed put. She was looking around for some other clothes.

"What's wrong?" Anna saw Amy feverishly browsing the tables and racks laden with clothes. "Are you looking for anything else?"

By this time, Amy had found a gray T-shirt and a black jean jacket, which she grabbed unceremoniously and showed them to Anna.

"Okay…" Anna was slightly flustered. "Look, I'm sorry for having to ask you this, but do you have a way to pay for these clothes?"

Amy nodded, because she was literally loaded with the stolen cash in her backpack.

"Oh. I guess your parents are here somewhere, right? They're going to meet you here?"

Amy stared blankly at the saleswoman. She had no idea why one would mention her parents. They had been dead since she was 8 years old, which now seemed like another lifetime.

"Okay, I take it you're here on your own. Well, if your parents gave you money to buy yourself some new clothes, just be careful and watch out for yourself," Anna advised, hoping this quirky preteen wouldn't be too careless with her parents' money. "By the way, what's your name?"

Amy didn't say anything. She hadn't spoken in years and was certainly not about to start now.

"Okay, well, it's alright. I guess you're a bit shy. Or maybe… Are you, um… how to ask this… 'speech and hearing impaired'? Maybe you're reading my lips. Do you use the sign language?"

Amy shook her head – she would talk soon enough, but just didn't feel like trying it now.

"Okay, well, I take it you're just kind of shy. It's okay, you don't have to be afraid. So, you wish to buy a t-shirt and a jacket?"

Amy frantically nodded. This was exactly what she wanted.

"Is that the color you like the best? You sure you don't want something that's a bit more colorful?"

Amy shook her head. Gray and black were perfect, as long as she could get out of the store quickly.

"Okay then, if that's what you want. But at least, take this T-shirt and jacket instead – they're the same design and color but probably closer to your size," she suggested, trading the sizes she just picked for those that Amy had clumsily chosen. "Why don't you try them on? In the dressing room, I mean?"

Amy grabbed the clothes and literally raced to the dressing room to try them on, so hurried she was to get out of the department store and not realizing her behavior seemed so odd. Indeed, Anna thought that even if preteens could be shy or immature, this one seemed rather like something of a nutcase. Amy very quickly stepped out of the dressing room wearing her new clothes and ran to meet Anna.

"So, does this outfit feel okay to you?" When Amy nodded many times very quickly, Anna said: "okay, so why don't you just follow me to the register? You look like you're in a bit of a hurry."

Amy looked confused. She had also forgotten what a "register" was.

"Um… Did you want to buy something else?"

Amy shook her head. She wanted to pay up and get out of here.

"Then, we can go to the register so you can buy your new outfit, okay?" Anna asked encouragingly.

At the checkout counter, Anna said: "you might want to slip back into your dress, dear, so I can check your clothes out into the computer." However, Amy shook her head defensively; unbeknownst to Anna, she had actually left her dress in the dressing room, not wanting to ever see it again.

Anna didn't argue, for Amy really seemed sure about that. "Okay… well, maybe I can just do it while you're wearing them. Why don't you step behind the counter so I can get the scanner to read the tags?"

It took a while to carry out that suggestion, because Amy didn't want to step too close to the saleswoman (Anna had to explain that "it's not going to hurt at all!"). Anna tried to get Amy to do it herself, but found that the girl had not a clue as to what in the world were bar codes. Finally, Amy was allowed to temporarily take off her shirt and jacket so Anna could run the scanner over the bar codes; for the pair of jeans, Anna had to do it very slowly and at arm's length, but she managed to pull it off. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Anna asked, although she thought that Amy had been rather difficult.

"So, your total is $98.67," Anna indicated after Amy had stepped back beyond the counter. "By the way, you might want to keep the tags attached before you show your mom your new clothes. They look just slightly bigger than your real size, and maybe she'll want to come here and exchange or return them." Anna thought she had done her best with this kid, but hoped the girl's parents wouldn't come charging in the store and cause a scandal about sneaky salespeople selling dubious and expensive items to gullible children.

Amy wasn't listening, busy with finding some her money to pay for her purchase. It was then that she made her mistake: she opened her knapsack and took out one of the many enormous wads of $100 bills.

Anna opened her eyes wide. She was too stunned to speak for a second. This strange 12-year-old was carelessly walking around with a few grand in cash. Recovering, Anna managed to ask: "um, tell me dear, where did you get all that money?"

Amy froze. She started to realize her grave mistake. She stared blankly at Anna, having no idea what to do.

Anna could see the girl was suddenly frightened. "Okay… Just calm down. I just, I know it's not really my business, but I just need to know where that money came from." Again, Amy didn't react. "Look, you don't seem to realize it, but that's _really_ an awful lot of money. Did you take it from your parents?" That seemed unlikely, but Anna couldn't come up with any other explanation. Not knowing that Amy had 30 times that amount in her backpack, she could only guess Amy's parents were very rich and liked to use cash; they must have vaguely told Amy to pick some up somewhere in the house to buy some new clothes, and Amy must have thoughtlessly grabbed a $10,000 wad because she had perhaps never learned from her parents the real value of money. However, the girl still looked frightened, which suggested that she actually might be in real trouble because of that money. Anna thought she should probably call the police. "Hold on, I'll…" She wasn't sure if she should mention what she was doing, so she just picked up the phone and pressed 'security'.

"Hi, could you send someone over here right now? I've got a kid who's walking around with–" Anna dropped the phone in mid-sentence, alarmed – Amy had pulled out her handgun from her knapsack, pointing it straight at Anna.

It was the saleswoman's turn to be severely frightened. This was probably the weirdest thing that ever happened to her: a preteen-aged complete oddball had walked into the store with $10,000 in cash to buy an outfit and was now holding her at gunpoint.

"Okay… okay," she said, trying to sound serene, although she was really scared. "Just calm down. It's okay. Take it easy. I-I was just calling for help, that's all. I just wanted to find someone to help you out."

On her guard, Amy held the gun firmly, but she actually felt awful. She was forced to dangerously threaten the first person who had shown kindness to her in over two years. She knew she needed to run for it as soon as she could, but she felt that at the very least, she should pay Anna for the bought items. Still holding the gun with one outstretched arm, she used her other hand to slip out one of the many $100-bills in the wad and placed it on the counter.

Anna saw what Amy was doing. "It's okay, take it easy. I want to help you, I don't mean any harm," she said very nervously. She could see Amy wasn't a criminal; she hadn't guessed Amy's real age and still thought her to be a preteen who, by some very weird circumstances, had gotten herself into a huge predicament. At the same time, Anna simply didn't know what to think, and could hardly think straight with a gun in her face.

Amy used her free hand to put the wad back in her backpack, then grabbed it and slowly backed away, her pistol still firmly aimed at Anna. Once she had reached the entrance of the clothes section of the department store, she put away her weapon and made a run for it, not wanting to wait around for the police to show up.


	3. In Silence

**3. In Silence**

After the close call at the department store, Amy decided she ought to leave town and head for Mobotropolis as soon as possible. However, she didn't know the way to the airport or the train station; she also didn't know which way to Mobotropolis was most efficient, and wasn't sure it was safe for her to be seen hanging around at an airport or train station.

Amy then saw an open café and thought she should maybe ask some of the locals how to get to Mobotropolis, and perhaps ask where was best to engage in hitchhiking (which might be a more anonymous way to leave town). Since it was just 3pm, the unadorned café was rather deserted. Amy took a seat at the bar and was approached by the barman, a fiftyish bearded man with a bored-like grimace planted on his face.

"What would you like?" he asked gruffly.

Amy thought of ordering a glass of water. She tried to do so – only to find out no sound came out of her mouth. She tried again, to no avail.

"What's that?" asked the barman.

Amy felt more nervous by the minute; she was trying to say "I'd like a glass of water," but found that it was impossible, having not uttered a single word in two years. Just like with Anna, something about that bartender gave Amy a feeling that she shouldn't or couldn't talk to him.

The barman grew impatient. In the end, feeling desperate, Amy spotted a stack of pens on the bar near her stool; she grabbed one and wrote on her hand, "a glass of water, please." (The writing was very clumsy, because she also hadn't ever practiced it at Catherine's.)

The barman didn't look too impressed. "I don't take my orders from people's hands," he mumbled.

Amy didn't know what to do. Then, she tried pretending she had just lost her voice. She slightly raised her chin and gently tapped her throat for the barman.

"Hmmmpf" was his answer, but he proceeded to pour down a cup of water. As he set it on the bar, Amy pulled out one of her $100 bills (this time, carefully and discreetly) and handed it to the barman.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" he chuckled.

Amy sighed. She was dismayed to find she could not even order a drink without causing a problem. She pointed at the water to show she wanted to pay for it.

"You want to pay a glass of water with a $100 bill?" He then let out a raucous laugh. "Sorry, but I don't want it. A glass of water is free, anyway."

Annoyed, Amy reasoned she should find a way to break her bill to stop attracting attention with her money, which had thus far proved more problematic than helpful. Using her hand, she ordered an orange juice and tried to pay with the bill. The barman grumped, but took it and handed Amy her $98.25 change.

After drinking her water and orange juice, Amy stormed out of the café. That idea had been a complete failure, and she had discovered that she was almost mute, at least temporarily. Although she hoped to regain her speech, she couldn't do it off the bat and realized she would have a hard time making her way to Mobotropolis in this condition. She wouldn't be able, for example, to order a train ticket, take a taxi, or hitchhike.

Amy also reasoned that from now on, she could not show herself to anyone. Not only could she currently not speak, but the past two years had very much erased her former social skills. The scenes at the department store and at the bar suggested to her that her current behavior was considered socially freakish. She had forgotten so many reference points that were commonplace to everyone else that she could not even properly ask for a drink and would always be noticed and investigated. Since she was soon to be pursued for murder, she thought she should avoid everyone in Harver from now on.

Amy had only two former friends who would be willing to help her out: Sonic and Tails. However, they were far away, and she had no means of contacting them. Well, she remembered Sonic's old phone number: having pursued him romantically in her past life, she had learned it so well that she would know it forever. Yet it was an old number, which might not work anymore; it was also an international call that might not be possible on a payphone.

Nonetheless, Amy tried to find a payphone and at least see if there was a chance to call Sonic. Once inside the booth, Amy read the many instructions, which included how to place international calls. They were expensive, but Amy had just broken her $100 bill, so it was possible for her to place this call.

Amy dialed the number, which rang some eight times before the call was redirected to Sonic's voice mail: "_Helllloooooooowe you have reached the waytoosuperfast voice mail of – drum roll!! – Sooooooooooonic the Hedgehog, world-renowned A-class hero and holder, if you please (I do please, yes, thank you!), of the world record for supersonic speeeeeeeeeeeed – hear! hear! Leave a message, and if I like your voice, I'll call you back… or not! –_ beeeep"

Amy hung up. This was indeed Sonic's phone and his familiar immature voice mail greeting (which he had obviously been too lazy to update since his adolescent days), and it lifted Amy's spirits. She could try him again during the day and hope he might answer. This evoked very distant memories of when she was pursuing him long ago: she would literally harass him on the phone, calling him every day and anxiously waiting for him to pick up, usually in vain since he learned to avoid her calls.

Every hour, Amy tried again, to no avail. (Servinia had a four-hour time difference with Mobotropolis, but Amy had forgotten about time zones.) However, around 9:30pm, she tried again, and this time, someone answered, much to her surprise.

"Helloooo?" said a confident young man's voice.

Amy felt suddenly very nervous and emotional. She had just recognized Sonic's voice. It was the first time she had heard it in years.

"Hello?" she heard Sonic repeat. "Hello? Who is this?"

Amy was in trouble. She had to speak somehow, or at least say Sonic's name, or else he would just hang up. She tried to make a sound, but once again it couldn't come out.

Most people would have already hung up, but cheeky Sonic liked to mess around. "Buddy, whoever you are, I know you're there. You're breathing like a madman through that phone, you know," he said in an offhand way.

It was completely true. Amy hadn't noticed it, but she was breathing very hard due to her nervousness. She made another effort at saying Sonic's name. Although unsuccessful, Amy realized she was closer to making a vocal sound than during her other attempts earlier in the day; she wasn't sure why, but in truth she was reacting to the voice of someone who might remember her, instead of trying to communicate with a total stranger.

"Okay dude, it sounds like you don't have much to say. Just call me again at a later time. Happy Christmas, whenever that is. Don't let the bedbugs bite. See ya. Bye." He hung up.

Disappointed, Amy dialed again. She really wanted to somehow make contact with her former friend.

"Okay," Sonic answered, "who is this? Is this a prank call or something?"

Amy still felt tense; it sounded to her like Sonic was getting annoyed.

"All right, whatever… I don't care," said Sonic absent-mindedly. "Just start talking when you feel like it. I have all the time in the world. The Army picks up my phone bill, anyway – _suckers_." Amy could hear him walking around with the portable phone, and heard a background noise come on; it sounded like Sonic had turned on the television and stopped paying attention to whoever was on the phone.

Over the next minute, Amy's anxiety lifted with the knowledge that Sonic wasn't expecting her voice at a given moment. Again, she also felt more comfortable with Sonic on the other end than when confronting a surly bartender or an inquisitive saleswoman.

Unexpectedly, Amy was able to pronounce: "S-soo-niic..." Her whisper was feeble and ragged, but at least it was something.

Sonic immediately reacted. "Whoa. Who is this? Who's calling?"

Amy wouldn't say anything else, but she started drumming the headset to affirm her presence.

Sonic paused. This was highly unusual. If it wasn't an awful prank call, this had to be something very serious. "Dude, I heard ya. You've just said my name. And, actually, it kind of sounded like…"

Amy went silent; she had Sonic's attention now.

"Oh my God. It can't be you."

There was another pause – had Sonic just recognized Amy?

"Okay, I know this is impossible, but, you kinda sounded like my old friend Amy, in a weird way."

Amy breathed even more spasmodically. She had almost succeeded.

"Amy? Amy, is that you? My God. If this is you… It sounds like you can't speak. You must have a problem with your voice. Okay. How to do this… Okay, whoever you are, if you wanna say 'yes', tap twice into the phone and I'll hear it. To say 'no', just hit it once, alright?"

Amy promptly gave two knocks into the headset, which Sonic heard easily.

"Okay. Awesome. We have communication now." By this point Sonic was speaking so fast he was almost jabbering. "Okay. I've gotta figure out who you are. Are you Amy Rose?"

Amy gave two knocks in the headset, feeling more emotional than ever. She had made successful contact with Sonic.

"No. No way! This has gotta be a joke. You have to confirm this. Two knocks is a definite 'yes'. Is this really Amy Rose the Hedgehog? Rosy the Rascal? The last living honorary Ambrosian?"

Again, Amy tapped the phone twice to say "yes".

"OH MY GOD!!! Amy!!! Oh my God Amy! It's you! Wow! I can't believe it's really you! I almost recognized you from your whisper but you sound really different! Wow. Jesus. I…" Sonic was now almost at a loss for words. "Oh my God. This is… I… I don't know what to say. I thought you were… Amy, I thought you were dead. Jesus, I thought you had been killed." For a second, Sonic's voice was breaking. He sounded like he was near tears. "Amy, I'm so sorry! We looked everywhere for you, and I ended up giving up on you! We thought we learned you were dead, and so… Oh God, I am such a jerk. We didn't bother to keep looking and check whether it was true or not. I had no idea you had survived." Suddenly he pulled himself together. "Amy, do you need help? It really sounds like you're calling for some help. I can come pick you up. Do you need me to come pick you up?"

Amy expressed another "yes" through the headset, very much relieved. She felt more hope than she had ever felt in a long time.

"Okay. Okay. I promise, I'll come pick you up, wherever you are. Do you know where you are?"

Amy knocked the headset twice.

"Okay, you know where you are, but, how would you tell me… Amy, can you speak at all?"

Amy knocked the headset just once, to indicate a 'no'.

"Oh man. I hope you're okay. Are you… are you ill at all? Maybe you're ill to the point that you can't talk anymore. Maybe you have pneumonia or typhus or something that really sucks. Are you sick at all?"

Amy wasn't ill. She hit the telephone once.

"Okay. Well, it must be something else. We'll fix you up once you're back home with us. Anyway, I still need to figure out where you are. Ummm… Okay, I've got it, I'll call the operator. They'll tell me where your call was made from and give me the number. I'll call you right back, okay?"

Amy expressed a 'yes'.

"Cool. Just stay put for two minutes. I'll call you right back, I promise."

Sonic hung up.

Five minutes later, the phone rang again. Sonic hadn't let her down. Amy picked up right away.

"Okay," said Sonic, "she said you were calling from a payphone in Servinia, in a city called Harver. She said it's in the hillside country of Servinia, near the frontier, but it took her a while to find the street. She said it's called Albemarle Street. Hold on, I'll find a map on the Internet. I don't think Gogglemap has it, it's too remote." More than ever, the hyperactive Sonic was speeding through the steps. "Awesome, I just found a street map of Harver on the Internet. It'll take me at least two days to get there… Can you wait that long?"

Amy promptly gave two knocks into the headset.

"Cool. Are you at a hotel or something? Do you have a place to stay in Harver?"

Amy indicated a "no".

"You don't? You don't have a place to sleep?"

Again, Amy hit the phone just once for a "no".

"Okay… Well, we'll figure that out later. Right now I'll just try to find Albemarle Street on that map. I kind of suck with maps, but, let's see. Tadadadadaaa… yes! I got it. I see where it is. It's not a very long street, I'll find you easily. Amy, I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll leave right now. I'll just run there. I promise I'll be there the day after tomorrow, then we can go home. Can you be near that payphone on Albemarle Street the day after tomorrow?"

Again, Amy indicated a "yes" using the headset.

"Okay. I'll be there soon. Just hold on for a little bit longer. If you get into trouble and can't be there, I'll call the police to help me find you."

Amy jumped. She felt a horrible jolt at the word 'police'. At this point, she wouldn't trust anyone in the world except Sonic and Tails. Anyone else she had to avoid, and most of all the police. Almost immediately, she hit the headset once for 'no' – except this time, she hit it so hard she practically smashed the telephone to pieces.

"Whoa!!" Sonic had definitely heard the promptness and strength of Amy's 'no'. "I guess you don't want to. It sounds like you're in trouble."

Amy hit the headset again, twice this time, for a "yes". She certainly felt in trouble, especially after the close call at the department store.

"Uh… is the police looking for you or something?"

Amy hesitated. If she answered "yes", would Sonic think she had become a criminal? Nonetheless, she answered with two knocks, having already decided to trust Sonic.

"Okay," said Sonic. "All right. I should probably get you out of Harver some way more discreet, if you're such in deep shit. But you also need a place to sleep. I don't know anyone in Harver, but maybe some friend of mine does and can help out. I'll start calling all my friends about that, so..."

As Sonic spoke, Amy once again furiously communicated a "no," not wanting to trust anyone she didn't know.

"Okay! Okay, okay. I'm just worried. I don't want you sleeping out on the street. You gotta find some shelter. I should really try to find someone in Harver who can help you out."

Amy was categorical about that. Again, she hammered the phone for a "no".

"Okay, okay! Fine," Sonic sighed. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Amy answered "yes" by tapping the headset twice.

"Okay. I really feel bad about this. Can I at least call Tails to come and help out?"

Amy indicated another "yes" through the headset. Tails she trusted.

"Awesome. I thought of running to Harver, but we'll fly the Tornado instead. Our pace will be slower but we'll fly nonstop, we'll just stop for fuel and Tails and I can alternate for sleep. I just hope I don't crash it, because I really suck at flying that thing. We'll probably get to Harver tomorrow night, then we can leave with the Tornado without having to take the train or something. There's only one passenger seat, but I can ride the way back standing on the wings, like in the old days."

Once Amy remembered what was the Tornado, she felt much more comfortable with this idea.

"Amy, is it chill if we do it that way? With the Tornado?"

Amy said "yes" by hitting the headset twice.

"Okay. I'll call Tails right now. Just hold on until tomorrow night, okay? We'll be in Harver ASAP."

Amy didn't answer, but communicated another "yes".

"Okay. See you tomorrow night then. Bye. We'll be there tomorrow. You'll be fine. Everything will be fine. You'll be home in no time. Until tomorrow then. Bye. Bye." Sonic hung up.


	4. McBride's Statement

**4. McBride's Statement**

After Amy's phone call, Sonic immediately rushed to the University of Mobotropolis to find Tails. Much surprised by the news, Tails suggested the two investigate a bit before flying to Servinia with the Tornado. They decided to enlist the help of their older friend Brad, who might have insiders at the Harver local police who could possibly scan a police record about Amy, because she had intimated to Sonic that she was hiding from the police.

At Brad's apartment downtown, Sonic and Tails were greeted by Brad and his wife Winnie. Both almost 30 years old, they were an idealist but mature couple. Although they had never met Amy, they knew about her from Sonic when she had disappeared two years ago. They were evidently surprised when the two youths launched into an excited chorus of explanations.

"I swear to God, I just talked to her­–"

"But she didn't say anything, it could be a trap–"

"She's lost in Harver and everything–"

"We wanna fly there now–"

"We gotta find out why the police's looking for her–"

It took a few minutes for Brad and Winnie to get a coherent understanding of the situation. Once the matter was straightened, they spontaneously agreed to do whatever they could. Brad reacted to Tails' suggestion that he secretly contact someone from the Harver police.

"Yes, I do know someone there who could give us a hand. It's kind of illegal, but he did it for me when I was writing about the police near the frontier, which was interesting because of their awkward relationship with the mercenaries living there. His name is Pablo; we became great friends, and he mentioned once he knew about you, Sonic."

Sonic kind of shrugged in a faux-modest way. "That's nice. He's probably willing to help out a hero like me, then."

Brad made an amused roll with his eyes and stepped towards the phone to call Pablo. With the four-hour time difference, it was already night-time in Servinia, but Pablo could still be on duty.

A minute later, Brad recounted the phone call: "Pablo said he'll swing by the police station soon and look for anything recent. The police station is kind of empty at this time, so he won't be noticed. I told him to look for a teenage pink hedgehog, and he'll see if any suspect fits that description."

"That's awesome!" Sonic joyfully exclaimed. "Is he calling you back soon?"

"Yeah, he said he'll call me as soon as he finds something. It won't be more than an hour or two."

"In the meantime," Winnie broke in, "why don't you two stay for dinner? You should probably have a meal if you're about to fly all the way to Servinia."

Sonic was so impatient to find Amy that he would've rather done something more useful, but there was really nothing to do besides getting the Tornado ready, and Tails' hangar was too far to do it now and come back. "Sure okay, thanks Winnie."

Dinner was an odd event. Sonic literally devoured his mashed potatoes at lightning speed, excited as he was about flying to Harver to find Amy; Tails hardly dared touch his plate, shaken by the whole affair.

"Miles, what's the matter?" asked Winnie.

At Winnie's words, Tails stopped absentmindedly playing with his fork, but still looked dejected. "I don't know what to think. I really want to find Amy, but I just can't believe she could be back from the dead." He would have added this undertaking scared him, but for the fact he felt insecure to voice his fears too explicitly. "And, you know, I don't wanna get my hopes up and find out it was some kind of prank call or worse."

Winnie tried to give an encouraging smile. "Hopefully Pablo will come up with something. I'm sure he could also help you over there if you decide to go to Servinia."

"Hey! No way, Jose!" Sonic blurted out, to everyone's surprise. After an awkward silence, he nervously added: "um, sorry, I meant, Amy was very clear about that. She really didn't want me to contact the police or anyone."

Winnie frowned. "Hmmm. Well, it still might be better for her if the police finds her; at least she would be safe. Honey," she asked her husband, "isn't the Servinian police known for respecting human rights?"

"Overall, they're pretty good," he nodded, "but it's a bit iffy near the frontier. Pablo actually let me in on some pretty shady stuff when I was doing that research. But Sonic, I think you can at the very least trust Pablo – he's really a good guy, he'll be willing to help you out over there."

This time, Sonic didn't say anything; he didn't want to vocally repel Brad's suggestion, which was probably a wise one, but he really felt obliged to respect Amy's wish.

"Say Brad," asked Tails, "don't you think we'll be noticed when we look for Amy in Harver? Won't the police be suspicious of us now that we're messing with them?"

"Dude, this was your idea in the first place!" interjected Sonic.

Brad quickly replied, hoping to defuse Sonic's ardor. "Umm… It's not as dangerous as it seems. I don't think you'll stand out too much. Servinia is very much like our country. You know, although they're independent now, it was a Mobian colony for 200 years, so they were culturally assimilated. They speak Mobian and use our currency, and even the accents are not too different. However, some Servinians don't like us because of colonization (I don't blame them), so just don't brag too much about being from Mobotropolis."

Although Mobius was the name of the planet, the former kingdom of Mobotropolis under the rule of the House of Acorns had recently been replaced by a new "Republic of Mobius" with democratic institutions and free elections. Outside the country, other people (such as Servinians) referred to the Republic simply as "Mobotropolis", thus including both the capital and the Republic's provinces. The House of Acorns had historically colonized many countries, which had provoked much global resentment; however, after decolonization it restored its global credibility by winning the guerilla war against Dr. Eggman, although it had not been enough to avoid the subsequent republican revolution in Mobotropolis.

Pablo's much-expected phone call occurred a bit after dinner: BRIIINNGG BRIIINNGG BRIIINNNG – "That's probably him!" Brad picked up, while the others eagerly crowded around the telephone. "Hello? … Yeah. … Okay, hold on, I'll put you on speakerphone… There. You're now on with Winnie, Sonic the Hedgehog and his best friend Miles Prower."

"Hi," said Sonic.

"Hello, nice to meet you," greeted Tails.

"Hello, Pablo," said Winnie.

"_Hi. It's good to hear your voice, Winnie. A pleasure to meet you two, Sonic and Miles_," said Pablo's voice through the speaker. "_I've heard about you, Sonic the Hedgehog_."

"Hey, thanks so much for doing this," said Sonic. "I can't emphasize how important this girl is to us."

"_Well, don't thank me yet – I just found this one file, I'm not sure if that's who you're looking for. It's from a deposition given earlier today by a saleswoman named Anna McBride about a 12-year-old pink hedgehog girl who, the woman claimed, threatened her at gunpoint in her store._"

Tails frowned. "Hmmm. It could be her, but Amy would be 18 or 19 now."

"Pablo, how did the woman know the girl was 12?"

"_That's just how McBride described the suspect. In her statement McBride wrote that the girl was carrying around what looked like stolen money – she said it must have been some $10,000 in cash. The girl pulled out a gun when McBride attempted to call the police about the money._"

"Whoa. Okay, well, the stolen money makes sense. Amy said she was in trouble. Pablo, is the police out to arrest her?"

"_From what I understand, we can't pursue her for any felony or anything yet, because McBride only made a statement but didn't file a complaint for the threat. But the girl is considered 'wanted' by the police so she can give testimony – they want to know who she is, and why she's carrying a gun and $10,000._"

"Okay, well, we should really find her before the police does. Pablo, is there a way you could scan that file for us?"

"_Sure. It's obviously illegal and unprofessional, but I trust you, Sonic the Hedgehog. One last thing: we have no idea where that money came from, because there hasn't been a robbery in our jurisdiction for a while – the last cases were closed and didn't involve more than $2,000 or $3,000 anyway. _

"All right… Hey, thanks again, man," Sonic said earnestly. "This is really helpful."

"_Sure, and good luck in finding your friend. I should really go – I really need to do this as quickly as possible, or else I could lose my job._"

After a quick chorus of thank-yous and good-byes from those gathered at Brad's house, Pablo hung up.

Minutes later, Brad received an email containing the scan of the said police report. Brad printed it and handed it to Sonic, who quickly but carefully started studying its three pages.

"Okay. She says here the girl acted strangely and seemed rather ignorant. Hmmm… She says Amy looked like she had never been in a clothing store before," Sonic added, still reading the file.

"Yeah, well, if it _is_ Amy," Tails objected. "I mean, she's 18, do you think it makes sense someone would describe her as strange and ignorant?"

"I think it makes perfect sense," Winnie interposed. "If Amy is running away for robbery, I'd think she'd probably act nervous and defensive. If she was buying clothes, she'd want to find her clothes very quickly instead of hanging around and try different sizes and cuts like other girls do. It must have looked strange to that woman."

"Yeah," Sonic agreed, still looking at Anna's statement. "See here, that's exactly how she describes her. 'Defensive,' 'shy'… Look, she says here that Amy hadn't spoken a single word during the whole scene! It all fits! It's her!" Sonic said excitedly.

"But why would Amy have stolen $10,000?"

"Hey – there could be loads of reasons. Maybe it was an accident. And after all, we don't know what's happened to her in the past two years. We'll figure it out. Let's just find her and we'll see."

"Okay. I just hope she didn't end up becoming a mercenary herself. Maybe Slug's sister-in-law convinced her to do it instead of killing her."

Sonic paused. Of course, it was possible. "I don't know. If she did, we'll talk her out of it." He stood up. "Brad – thanks so much, man. This is great."

"Hey, don't mention it. I really hope you find your friend. Let us know if we can help out some more."

"Will do," Sonic said, shaking his hand.

"Also," added Brad, "let me give you Pablo's number. You might need it if you get in a tight spot once in Harver."

Sonic now felt much more hopeful about finding Amy. Tails' suggestion had been fortunate: they were much better prepared for the search awaiting them, equipped with McBride's statement and Pablo's number. For once, the odds of their long-awaited and long-hopeless reunion with Amy Rose were in their favor.

"And now… to the Tooornadooo!" Sonic shouted dramatically, as he and Tails set off in the direction of Tails' hangar.


	5. The Novice Inspector

**The Novice Inspector**

Flying high over the barren landscape of Servinia, Sonic kept the Tornado firmly pointed in the direction of Harver. He had relayed Tails early that morning, and the two-tailed fox was now sleeping in the passenger seat, equipped with earplugs and a blindfold. Though not very skilled at flying, Sonic knew how to maneuver the plane: in his youth, he had once used the Tornado to spectacularly save Knuckles after the echidna had retrieved the Master Emerald from Mecha Sonic over the exploding Sky Sanctuary Zone.

Ever since taking over from Tails, Sonic hadn't stopped reminiscing about his previous uneven friendship to Amy Rose. During the guerilla war against Eggman, Sonic, Tails, and Amy had been a "family" of war orphans, but Amy had always remained a sort of outsider in the trio; this was due to both her relentless romantic pursuit of Sonic and the tightness of the Sonic-Tails bond. Amy was then sent to boarding school for a few years; after the war, she had unexpectedly reappeared during Sonic's and Tails' mission in the immense, deserted forest of Ambrosia. Due to the stress of the mission, they had failed to welcome her as a long-lost sister. Back in Mobotropolis, Amy became withdrawn and isolated, but Sonic was busy with helping Tails, psychologically fragile due to what had happened in Ambrosia (Tails had killed someone for the first time).

Amy's subsequent kidnapping had been a painful wake-up call to Sonic: he realized Amy had always longed for her "family." While in Ambrosia, she had more than once implicitly expressed that need, and Sonic had ignored her. He blamed himself for the kidnapping: he thought that if he had not neglected Amy, she could have confided in him about her enemies. Sonic and Tails tried to find her, but after a long and dangerous investigation, they thought they learned Amy had been murdered by the sister-in-law of Slug the Machine, the mercenary Amy had killed in Ambrosia. Grief-stricken, they returned to Mobotropolis, but Sonic never forgave himself.

He remembered Tails' comments the previous day hinting at Sonic's irrational eagerness due to his remorse. Essentially, Tails had been completely right. Sonic was very determined to find Amy, even if the situation was reckless, almost to make up for the guilt he sustained from Amy's disappearance.

He was glad Tails was on board; although Sonic had more life experience, Tails, while still immature, had an analytical mind, which meant the two friends complemented one another. Tails had actually once strived to be like Sonic, to whom he looked up as a role model, and after the war had started training alongside him as a covert ops agent. However, Sonic noticed a reckless overzealousness in his best friend's wish to "catch up" to the blue blur; since it contradicted his true character, Tails eventually paid the price during the Ambrosian disaster, and Sonic insisted he be discharged. With Tails busy with school, the two spent less time together, but still considered one another as siblings despite their contrasting personalities.

After a rough landing in a deserted field a few miles from Harver, Sonic and Tails hopped out of the plane. They were a few hours ahead of schedule: it was only late afternoon, and the meeting at Albemarle Street was supposed to be in the evening. Nonetheless, Sonic could hardly contain his excitement: he wanted to start looking in Harver right away.

"But what if she's not there?" asked Tails. "Your rendezvous is tonight, right? If she's running from the police, I think she's probably keeping off the streets during daylight."

Sonic nodded. "You might be right. But I'll just check out Albemarle St and at least find the payphone. If she's not there, I was thinking, maybe I could go to the department store and try to find this Anna McBride woman. I'll just talk to her about what happened yesterday at the store."

Tails felt rather adamant to this idea. "Sonic, I don't know if you should do that…"

"Why not?"

"Because, if you're not from the police, I don't think Anna McBride will trust you. I think she'll think you're probably out to harm Amy."

"Dude, are you out of your mind? I don't want to –"

"I _know_ you don't – b-but think about it from her point of view. She doesn't really know if you're Amy's friend or not. She might think you're a gangster who was involved with the robbery and who wants to find that money."

Sonic calmed down – that made a lot of sense. "Okay. Okay, sorry buddy. Okay, what if I just pretend I'm from the police?"

"Sonic, you don't have a uniform, let alone a badge… You think she'll believe you?"

"I'll just say I'm an inspector from Servinia City who's taking over this case. If she needs proof, I have the printout from her statement. It'll totally work! This is just a provincial city, so people are probably more laid back than in Mobotropolis."

"Okay, fine. I'll just hang out here and watch the Tornado, then," Tails mumbled. He would rather go with Sonic to look for Amy, but he would have to stay put.

"Right. And you got Pablo's number. If Amy and I are not back by tomorrow at dawn, you should call him for help. Just find some farm around here and ask them to use their phone or something."

Twenty minutes later, Sonic had reached Harver. Although he could have arrived earlier, he wanted to avoid the risk of anyone recognizing him and avoided – for once – showing off his trademark speed. He had also grabbed a hat and a black jacket Tails kept in his trunk to further disguise himself. Sonic the Hedgehog was not so much a celebrity anymore (at least, not as much as he was when he fought Dr. Eggman), but he _did_ still hold the world record for supersonic speed and could possibly be recognized by some science buffs. He knew at least some inhabitants of Harver knew about him: Pablo was the living proof of that fact.

At five in the afternoon, the streets of Harver were rather busy: it was the middle of rush hour. Sonic welcomed the bustle, for it made him more anonymous and eased his search for Albemarle Street. Soon enough, he found the payphone, but Amy was not present. Like Tails had suggested, she probably wouldn't show herself in daytime, especially during rush hour.

Sonic then reverted to his idea to ask Anna McBride about her encounter with Amy. He had some details from the statement, of course, but it was important to him to get a sense of Amy's well-being. He couldn't linger, though: the store would probably close soon. Sonic quickly walked to it, helped by the address indicated in the statement.

Once in the clothing section of the store, Sonic spotted a salesman rearranging a tie rack. Taking what he hoped was his most professional voice, he asked: "Hello, I'm inspector Sasser. I'm looking for Anna McBride, please."

"Hello, inspector. I'm pretty sure Anna's in the corner on the other side of the room… Yep, I see her, over there," the salesman pointed.

"Thank you." Sonic quickly found Anna; to be sure, he glanced at her name tag. "Mrs. McBride?" Sonic said in a somewhat pompous voice.

"Yes? Miss McBride, actually."

"Hello, I'm inspector Mark Sasser," Sonic said, holding out his hand, which Anna shook. "I'm in charge of a bank robbery case in Servinia City, and I've just read your statement about what you witnessed yesterday. Would you have a few minutes for me?"

"Yes, certainly – I-I didn't expect someone from the capital so soon. Is that girl's money from the robbery you're investigating?"

"It's quite possible, yes, although we don't know for sure. The money you saw yesterday wasn't stolen in Harver, so we – we – we think that since it was bundled, it might be linked to the recent bank robbery in the capital. You know, we're just looking for any leads that come up."

"All right. Um, I hope you don't mind me saying so, inspector, but I must say you look rather young for an inspector."

"I'm – I'm junior inspector," Sonic quickly reacted. He pulled out Anna's statement, partly in order to dispel her thought that he might be a con. "So, as I was saying, I've read your statement, in which you described the whole event as very strange."

"Yes, of course. Even before the girl pulled out the gun, it was a strange situation. She was certainly a very unusual customer. But even then, I must say that the last thing I had ever expected to see was a firearm in the possession of a 12-year-old."

"Right, she's 18, actually," Sonic said casually.

"Really! So you know who she is?"

"Oh – I mean – we – we have a file of an 18-year-old woman from Servinia City who fits the description you made, and we think it's her," Sonic quickly fibbed. He briefly thought Tails had been right to advise him not to meet Anna, but this lie seemed to have convinced her. "Why did you think she was so much younger?"

"Well she… she was wearing a dress, which she actually forgot in the store. I left it at the police station; they said they would give it to their forensics department. And, you know, many 12-year-old girls can seem tall for their age. Also, before she pulled out that gun, I had already noticed she acted very strange, almost childish… For example, she didn't even know what a dressing room was. At times, she didn't seem to understand me. It also looked like she felt threatened by me; now I understand why she didn't want to trust anyone, but at the time I thought she was just a shy kid whom her parents didn't take out too much."

"Do you remember anything else about her? Did she look like she was in good shape? Did she seem ill at all?" Sonic was trying to hopefully get a sense of Amy's welfare.

"No, not ill… It seemed she was fine. I don't remember her looking sick. Actually I'm just remembering something… I forgot to put this in the statement, because I was really focusing on the money and the threat, but before I also noticed she…" Anna trailed off, looking slightly shaken.

"Miss McBride?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I was just saying, I noticed she didn't want me to touch her at all. She looked allergic to any physical contact. It was pretty surprising, actually: she wouldn't even let me measure her waist. Dear me, I hope she's fine."

Hopefully Anna was just describing Amy's understandable lack of trust, but Sonic felt more determined than ever to find his friend. "You also wrote she didn't speak. She didn't say a single word at all?"

"Not one word, she only nodded or shook her head. After awhile I thought she might be a deaf-mute, but she shook her head when I asked her. I guessed she might have lost her voice that day, but I don't really know. Maybe she just won't talk to someone she doesn't trust."

"Okay, well, I have a few more questions…"

"Yes, I'm sure you might wonder about our security cameras –"

"Oh – of course. I was just about to ask that," Sonic said untruthfully, trying to sound confident.

"I'm sorry, but we actually don't have any. Unlike Servinia City, Harver's a peaceful town, so we don't have the need for so much security."

"Hmmm. Well, that's unfortunate, but your testimony was detailed enough. You also said she bought some clothes – I was wondering what items she bought. It'll help us on our search."

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry – I didn't mention that yesterday."

"That's alright – the police should have been the ones to ask you that. You know, here they're a bit amateurish," Sonic said smugly. He hoped this antiprovincial remark would enhance his credibility as a complacent inspector from the capital.

Anna chuckled. "Yes, well, I gave the receipt to the police, actually. Maybe you'd want to ask their forensics department for whatever evidence I left. I also gave them a $100-bill left by the girl, which should tell you whether she's linked or not to the robbery you're investigating."

Oops. Well, Sonic thought, perhaps this little gaffe nicely came off as brash pride from a junior inspector. "Right, right, er, I was planning on doing that, but, you know, I wanted to talk to you first."

"_Anyway_," Anna went on, "she bought a pair of blue jeans, a black jean jacket and a gray T-shirt."

Although he would've liked to ask further questions and learn more information about Amy's current state, Sonic thought he should probably leave before he made any more blunders. "Well, that's all for now. Thank you for your time, Miss McBride."

"You're welcome. I really hope you find her before something worse happens. I must say, she didn't look or act like a young delinquent at all. She really wasn't tricky or anything; I think that if she was a delinquent, she would have handled her money differently, and she wouldn't have bothered to pay me for the items she bought."

"Yes, well, I'm just doing my job, but hopefully this lead will allow us to close the case very soon," Sonic said, hoping it came off as professional. "Good night, Miss McBride."

"Good luck, inspector," Anna said, looking like she thought this young 'inspector' would really need some good luck to make up for his incompetence.

Once out of Anna's sight, Sonic breathed out of relief. Although more informed about Amy, this interview hadn't gone all too well, and Sonic thought he ought to exercise a bit more caution in his search. Therefore, he opted to wait for an hour or two until dark before going back to Albemarle Street, and stepped into a bar to order a light beer.

When the bar clock reached 8pm, Sonic decided it was time to move. The streets were dark by now, and a tiny street such as Albemarle should be pretty safe. As he headed for it, Sonic felt his heart beat faster in anticipation of such a long-awaited moment.

Having reached the payphone, Sonic looked around Albemarle Street, which looked completely deserted. He sighed, hoping Amy was all right and would show up later that night. However, he then spotted a tiny silhouette in a dark and empty parking lot not far from the payphone. His heart leapt; although the figure was in the shadows, he automatically thought that it was Amy Rose. Throwing caution to the winds, he enthusiastically trotted towards it and called her name. "Amy!"

Grave mistake. As soon as he had called out to the figure, it instantaneously turned around; before Sonic could react, he found himself with a gun pointed straight at his face.


	6. Back from the Dead

**Back from the Dead**

As soon as the sun had set, Amy started making her way to Albemarle Street. Moving cautiously through the streets, she repeatedly checked there were no policemen around. After a few minutes, she reached the payphone where she had called Sonic the previous afternoon: this was supposed to be their meeting place sometime tonight.

Amy had spent the day crouched behind very large trash bins in a deserted street, which she had determined would be a good daytime hiding place (despite the awful smell, which she didn't mind). She was wary of ever venturing in town during the day, because she reasoned that by now the authorities must be in possession of a description that Anna had probably left them. She was very hungry: the last time she had eaten had been the previous night, when she had gone into a dinky convenience store and bought a bag of chips; for once, that attempt had gone well, because it hadn't required of her any speech or social skills.

Amy remained a few spaces from the payphone, which was too close to a streetlight, because she wanted to avoid contact with anyone intent on using that phone. She rather opted to wait in an adjacent parking lot, which was both dark and empty. She kept her pistol ready for use, her hand gripping the handle inside the pocket of her new jean jacket.

She suddenly heard a voice behind her call her name. Amy didn't pause to think as to whether it was Sonic or one of Catherine's friends: in a flash, she whirled around and firmly pointed the gun on the newcomer.

Amy breathed out and started to relax her grip. It was indeed Sonic. She had to be sure, however. He had been gone from her life for so long that she needed to believe this moment was for real.

"Amy, it's me… It's okay…"

For Amy, the reunion felt more authentic by the second. This voice registered in her mind as Sonic's true voice. It really was him. She further relaxed her grip and retreated her outstretched arms while Sonic tentatively moved closer.

"Amy… Oh my God. I've finally found you. I thought I would never see you again." Sonic looked like he was about to break down. Amy also felt very emotional for what was the best moment in her life ever since her kidnapping.

However, when Sonic kept moving closer, Amy took a step back. Sonic clearly wanted to embrace her; he had long awaited this moment. Amy wasn't sure if she wanted that or not. Not wishing to make that step, she held out her palm towards Sonic – _no_.

Sonic stopped in his tracks, remembering what Anna had told her. He realized he should take it slow with Amy. Anyway, the important thing had been to find her.

"Wow, Amy, I'm just so happy I found you," Sonic sniffled. "I really thought this moment would never happen…"

For the first time, Amy's lips traced the beginnings of a small smile. She felt very weepy, but the tears wouldn't burst out. It was very difficult for her to express emotions, no matter how overwhelming, and not just because she couldn't speak. For two years she had been instructed to remain impassive, and had learned to follow that command for fear of brutal reprisals. Her boss simply couldn't stand Amy expressing anger, despair, or whatever she might have felt about her situation.

"Are you okay? I was really worried. Are you hurt at all, or sick?"

Amy was fine, except she hadn't eaten in a day, so she put her hand on her stomach.

"You're hungry?"

Amy nodded quickly; she was starving.

"Okay. We've got food. We should get to the Tornado. Tails brought a shit-ton of apples, as always. You like apples?"

Amy nodded. She didn't care if Tails had apples, broccoli, sponge cake, or raw beef: at this point she was ready to swallow anything.

"Awesome. We should probably head out now. In the dark it'll be pretty easy. You should probably put that gun away, though."

Amy staunchly shook her head. She wouldn't let her guard down until she was in the Tornado.

"Okay," sighed Sonic, "whatever. Well, at least put it in your pocket, we don't want to attract attention. Hey, what's that on your jacket…" Sonic noticed something when Amy placed the gun back in the pocket of her jacket. "Hey, I – I see, right. These are the clothes you got yesterday. You forgot to take out the tags…"

Amy gave a sudden jerk of her head. How did Sonic know that she had 'bought' some clothes yesterday? Of course, she hadn't taken care of the tags; she had forgotten that someone who bought new clothes would cut off its tags after the purchase.

"Be cool! Be cool, be cool. I just heard about what happened yesterday. It's all good. No one was hurt. We'll leave now and the police will soon forget you've ever been here."

Amy wasn't sure about that, but Sonic was right: they should get out of Harver now. By avoiding its main arteries, they were able to move closer to the city limits without problems. Sonic could see Amy discreetly darting her eyes left and right, like a hyperactive sentinel. The only stumbling block happened when the two hedgehogs noticed a police car parked outside a fast-food place. Sonic and Amy slowly retreated to the previous block, Amy instinctively reaching for her gun.

"Amy!" Sonic whispered. "Just put it away for now…" He agreed they needed to avoid walking by that police car, lest they recognize Amy. "Okay, let's just find another way out…"

It took a detour to get out of the city, but they achieved it without any unpleasant encounters. Once in the countryside, they crossed a few fields and were able to rejoin the road Sonic had used to get in Harver that afternoon.

"Amy, you know, you can't really start pulling out that gun every minute," Sonic advised in a normal tone, their surroundings now calm and deserted. "I know you feel it's for self-defense, but it's like, more dangerous than, uh, protective, you know?"

Sonic hated firearms; when Tails was training as a covert ops agent, Sonic had always pushed him to learn martial arts instead. Sonic also attributed part of Tails' recklessness in Ambrosia to the fact that Tails had secretly brought a gun without Sonic knowing. But Amy decided to keep her pistol in her pocket for now; she would only put it away once they were in the air. For once, Sonic didn't insist: he was too happy to have Amy back to start telling her what to do. "Amy, it's so fucking awesome that you're back. This has gotta be, you know, the best thing that's happened in a really long time."

Impatient to reach the Tornado, the two hedgehogs picked up their pace now that they weren't in any danger of being noticed. Despite the darkness, Sonic recognized the landscape and was able to guide them towards the field where the Tornado was parked. It suddenly came within their sight, and they quickly ran up to it, when Tails noticed their arrival.

"AMY! Amy, you're really alive!" An overjoyed Tails excitedly ran to meet the two hedgehogs. Amy weakly smiled but when Tails got too close, she again reacted with the same prudence she had shown towards Sonic.

"Amy, it's me! It's Tails!" he said, confused. "Don't you remember me?"

Amy nodded quickly; in truth, she was really happy to see him again, but she wasn't sure if she wanted him to embrace her.

"Buddy," Sonic quietly intervened, "just hold your horses for now. We can't really give her a hug. I'm not sure why, but it doesn't look like she's cool with it yet."

Tails still looked a bit confused, but smiled nonetheless. "Wow, Amy! It's so great to see you again. When Sonic said yesterday that you called him I really wasn't sure what to believe."

Amy didn't say anything, but every word Sonic and Tails spoke to her struck a chord in her heart. Both friends expressed respect, love, and friendship for her. It was something she simply wasn't used to. It felt good and overwhelming at the same time, although once again she didn't manage to express her emotion.

"Tails, we should fly out of this field before someone notices the plane. Is it ready for takeoff?"

"Uh – yeah – sure" – Tails was still a bit stunned by his first sight of Amy in so long. "Sure, we – we can take off whenever. Now, if you want."

"Cool. You still got some of these apples? Amy's really hungry."

Amy's stomach lurched at the thought of apples. She nodded very quickly. _Yes, yes, please_.

"Oh. Apples. Right. Apples. Okay. I packed a bunch before leaving." Tails went to open the trunk and returned with a sack of green apples.

"Say Tails, I was thinking, we should probably fly for a few hours and then find a motel around midnight or something. That's in three hours, which is plenty to get out of Servinia. It might be safer, because I might not be able to relay you – you know, I need to stand on the wings to leave the passenger seat to Amy…"

"Uh – sure. That's fine. We'll land it in a local airfield. Do you have money for the motel?"

Sonic checked his pockets. "Well, I've got… uh… like, 30 bucks. Damn! I should've grabbed some more. I didn't think about it. I just thought we'd fly straight home."

Although busy with her apples (which she was eating rather barbarically), Amy grasped that her two friends were short of money for some reason. She wildly jerked her thumb towards her chest.

"Oh ­– right. Amy, you've got all that stolen money…"

"Dude, we're not paying with that!" affirmed Tails, indignant. "I don't want to have anything to do with that money…"

Sonic paused for a second. "Okay. I – I think we should use it. I know it sounds sketchy, but what's most important is getting to Mobotropolis safely with Amy. If that involves staying at a motel, that's what we'll do, no matter where that money's from."

"But – but – maybe we should still figure out where it's from first. And maybe – Amy, you're sure that's not counterfeit? You're positive it's real money?"

Amy nodded. She held a collection of 3,000 bona fide $100 bills.

"What if they're consecutive?" Tails asked.

"Tails, it'll be fine. We'll just pick some random bills to pay up. No one will notice a thing. Anyway, we'll be outside of Servinia in some remote town somewhere."

Tails considered it a bit further, and relented. Two minutes later, the Tornado was taking off under the starry sky, carrying the three friends to safety and Amy to her newfound freedom.


	7. Spoils

**Spoils**

Flying high over the vast Mobian plains, the Tornado barely disturbed the dead of the night. It had been in the air for just about three hours, which had been sufficient to cross the border out of Servinia into the Republic of Mobius. While Tails and Amy respectively occupied the pilot's and passenger seats, Sonic stood on top of the plane as he had done so many times in his adolescence, most memorably when he and Tails had repeatedly pursued Dr. Eggman's infamous Death Egg. As the time neared midnight, Tails proceeded to lower the plane to land it into a small airfield a bit outside a provincial town.

Once the plane was safe in a hangar, Tails quickly dealt with the airport officials before meeting his friends to look for an inn. As they had predicted, there was one just outside the airport, designed for travelers who needed to spend a night for early morning flights.

Instead of asking for separate rooms, Sonic told the clerk they were looking for a single room with a king-size bed. Sonic consciously thought the three of them would easily fit in such a large bed, but in truth he was just reluctant to let Amy be separated again now that he had just found her.

The motel suite was just like any other: small, bland, and dimly lit. Its main room was furnished with the standard apparatus: a bed, a bedside table, a larger cabinet upon which sat an old television, an armchair, and not much else. Yet despite its modest, generic appearance, Sonic and Tails immediately recognized its potential for 'fun'. Sonic enthusiastically jumped on the bed. "Hey, this is awesome!"

"Yeah," said Tails, "check this out, they have this cool coffee machine, and it comes with cookies! The whole works!" Of course, Tails hated coffee; he was just interested in the cookies.

Meanwhile, Amy had taken off her jacket. She very neatly folded it, even making sure to smooth out every single visible crease, then set it gently near the side of the bed; her two friends didn't notice at all, however.

"Hey buddy," said Sonic, "why don't you put our shit over on that chair in the corner?" Tails obliged; their 'shit' amounted to only two small plastic bags plus Amy's knapsack. "And Amy's jacket, too," Sonic said, picking it up and throwing it to Tails, inadvertently destroying Amy's careful folding effort along the way.

As soon as he had done that, Sonic's jaw dropped. He had just noticed Amy suddenly backed up against the wall, looking extremely tense and staring at the chair where Tails had untidily left her jacket. She seemed very unsure at what to do; Sonic and Tails were goggling at her strange behavior, but Amy seemed to completely ignore them.

For a moment she stayed put, still pushing against the wall behind her; when it looked like nothing was about to happen, she cautiously walked over to the chair. She then very curiously hesitated for a while, but finally proceeded to fold her jacket once again the same way as before and placed it neatly on the chair.

Sonic and Tails looked at each other; each was as confused as the other.

"Okay… Um, why don't you guys have a seat?" Sonic said nervously, trying to smooth things out. "This king-sized bed is really cool…"

"Yeah, let's see what's on TV!" Tails suggested.

The television only had the major broadcast channels; Sonic and Tails soon found themselves rather bored, and they were more interested in hanging out with Amy anyway, even if she couldn't really communicate. At one point, they stumbled upon some old footage of the defunct rock group The Measles playing their singalong favorite "Hey Dude."

"Ah jeez. I've heard this, like, a billion times," Tails said; he dully murmured the lyrics along with the band. "Hey dude… don't feel so bad…"

Sonic discreetly motioned for Tails to look at Amy. Surprisingly, the pink hedgehog looked transfixed by the band's performance.

Amy was moved because she actually knew this song from a long time ago – from boarding school, even if rock was forbidden to listen to (only commercial pop was allowed, because the school received contributions from major teen-music labels). What happened was her teachers had forced her to start learning the piano (because it was a "girl's instrument") and to play the accompaniment for the school chorus. Amy grudgingly obliged, but had her revenge at their first concert, when she ruined it by deliberately playing the wrong chords the whole way through. It had earned her a very serious beating and the contempt of her peers, but she had achieved her goal – she was dismissed from the chorus and her piano lessons. Part of their program had been the song "Hey Dude"; however, Amy was now very much surprised to realize it was originally a rock song played with guitars.

"Hey, guessed you hadn't heard that in awhile, huh?" Tails asked once it was over.

Amy just kind of vaguely nodded; she didn't know if the song was considered a masterpiece or not (it seemed to bore her friends), but it made her feel good – it was a sort of relic of her life before her kidnapping.

"Hey, Amy," said Sonic after a little while, turning down the volume, "you're sure you still have those $10,000, right?"

Amy frowned. She shook her head – she had much more than that.

"Wait – you don't have that cash anymore? I thought you said you did…"

Amy put up her index – _one minute, guys_. She immediately fetched her knapsack and, upon rejoining her friends, emptied its contents by holding the open knapsack upside-down. The huge mass of money unceremoniously piled atop of the bed in a pyramid. Sonic and Tails were utterly astonished at Amy's huge fortune.

"Holy moley…" said Tails unconsciously.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Sonic swore, forgetful of his speech. "Holy Mother of God! I've never seen so much cash in my life!"

"Me too… Wow. This has honestly got to be one of the ugliest things I've ever seen," Tails commented, still stunned.

"Oh Jesus, this is really fucking scary. This is a lot more than ten grand. It's gotta be at least ten times that, if not much more."

Amy's delight at showing her fortune turned into confusion and disappointment when she understood her friends weren't taking it very well. Though this money had so far proved more problematic than helpful, she had been rather proud of it ever since grabbing it. This was her booty for having succeeded in murdering her boss, an act for which she still felt self-righteous. Most of all, she also felt this money was her deserved payment for years of forced labor. Along with murdering Catherine, her fortune was the only achievement she felt proud of in two years – essentially, the two successful initiatives she had taken. Very hurt at her friends' disapproval, she mutinously pointed at the pile of cash and then jerked her thumb towards her chest – _it's mine, it's all mine!_

But Sonic and Tails looked rather concerned at her attitude. "Amy, you can't be serious!" said Sonic. "This huge pile can't honestly belong to you!"

Amy just crossed her arms, looking sulky.

"Okay, okay, whatever. Let's just maybe inspect it a bit," Sonic suggested, trying to keep the peace.

"I'm not going to touch that stuff. It just looks so gross," Tails grumbled.

"No, look." Sonic was skimming through one of the bundles. "It looks pretty real to me. And they're nonconsecutive, see?"

Tails just shrugged, his face still in a grimace.

Amy was fuming. She thought her friends were unfairly denigrating the only achievement she could hold on to for the little self-esteem she had left, and it made her very resentful. She rather furiously started to collect each bundle of bills and rapidly threw them back in her knapsack. As far as she was concerned, if Sonic and Tails did not respect what she had done, they had no right to start fingering the product of her efforts.

Sonic and Tails exchanged a meaningful, uneasy look. Amy's attitude was very peculiar indeed, and they would have to be patient and tactful. Sonic turned again to Amy: "okay… Okay. It looks like you feel strongly about that money, but you know, you have to realize it looks… uh… crime-related. Drugs, arms dealing, something like that."

Amy just clutched her knapsack to her chest, staring moodily at Sonic.

"Amy, I'm only saying, I mean…" Sonic and Tails were repulsed not so much because the money could be troublesome, but rather because it felt like 'dirty money' – the product of a sinister act. If it was related to a weapons deal, for example, it meant the fortune's owner – Amy – was directly and anonymously profiting from senseless violence done to innocents. However, Amy didn't seem like she would be receptive to this reasoning (she was so touchy she could take it as a direct accusation), so Sonic chose to point out the more obvious drawback. "I just think that it could bring trouble. Maybe some gangsters are looking for this. Also, if someone sees you with this, they'll probably report you to the police… But we won't!" he added quickly when Amy gave a jerk of her head. "We won't ever report you for whatever, but I'm just saying, someone else might do it… someone who's not necessarily your friend. For example, that woman at the store told the Harver police about it, and she only saw a fraction of that cash."

This threat of delation reminded Amy that in the past few days, she had gradually identified the police as aggressors from whom she needed to defend herself. To express that to Sonic, she grabbed a notepad and a pencil from the bedside table and slowly wrote the word "police". She held it up for her friends, who managed to identify the word despite the crude handwriting (Amy's writing skills had essentially retreated to those of an 8-year-old). Amy then fetched her handgun from her jean jacket's pocket and pointed it at the word "police".

"Whoa," exclaimed Sonic, almost horrified. "Amy, are you saying you're ready to shoot any cop that comes your way?"

Amy sort of jiggled her hand – _kind of_. She then took the notepad and scribbled the word "Harver" just in front of "police"; under the two words, she also wrote (and misspelled) "self-defense", then repeated the motion with the gun towards "Harver police".

Sonic let out a long sigh. He knew he wanted at some point to try and figure out what Amy had become, and why. The pile of money and Amy's bellicose attitude towards the police prompted him to attempt to do so. "Okay, Amy, I really need to ask you this… In the past two years… Did you – and, you know, no one's blaming you if you did – did you, uh, become involved in crime? You know, robberies, gangs, that sort of thing…"

Amy shook her head; she certainly hadn't.

"Okay…" Sonic wasn't sure if Amy was being truthful; after two years, it was possible that she became reluctant to trust even her friends. "Or, did you become a mercenary? We thought we learned some of those people linked to Slug the Machine had something to do with your disappearance, so…"

Amy shook her head ­– this wasn't true either – albeit very furiously this time. She found she didn't want Sonic to discuss that at all; the word "mercenary" and the name "Slug" had spontaneously agitated her. To change the subject, she held her index over her mouth – _shh_.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. You don't want to talk about that for now. It's all good. We'll figure it out later."

Amy still looked tense; Sonic had to say something to get her to relax. "Amy, you know… You gotta understand… Whatever you might've done, we're not judging you or blaming you for anything. If you want to blame someone, blame me instead – I–I should've paid more attention when we got back from Ambrosia two years ago. Anyway, the important thing is that we found you. We're really glad you're back."

This wasn't a pretext to pacify Amy; Sonic sincerely meant every word he had spoken. Anyway, it worked, because Amy's figure relaxed. She actually wanted to smile but it didn't quite come out, yet Sonic was happy at her reaction. "Cool," he said smiling, "it's all cool. It's all good, it's all good."

At this point, the three friends were rather tired. Even if Sonic and Tails wanted to further hang out now that Amy was back, Sonic knew they should wrap it up; he also remembered that before tonight, Amy had been sleeping on the street. "Guys, it's 1am, maybe we should try to get some sleep. Amy, I – oh, darn, I – sorry, I hadn't really thought of that; um, you know what, I'll turn off the light, and you can just take off your jeans and shit in the dark."

Unbeknownst to Sonic, Amy didn't understand his suggestion at all, since privacy was still a foreign concept to her. It became a moot point when Sonic switched off the light and he and Tails slipped under the covers, followed by Amy once she had undressed save for her T-shirt.

Normally, Sonic and Tails would have talked long into the night, just like any teenager at a slumber party, but they naturally realized they couldn't do so since Amy was speechless. In any event, they could hear from her breathing that she had very quickly fallen asleep. All was well. Minutes later, they both joined her in the land of Nod.


	8. At the Motel

**8. At the motel**

Gusting over the motel, the heavy wind of the cold and cloudy morning did little to perturb the still and everlasting environment. Only the sounds of the occasional lorry passing through and of the airplanes taking off next door broke the silence. Neither the engine roars nor the bright light reflected through the heavy clouds were enough to wake last night's air travelers before 9am, when Sonic, Tails, and Amy slowly came to their senses.

After spending three nights without shelter, Amy had made good use of a comfortable night's sleep. So did her two friends, whose previous rests had occurred in the precariousness of the Tornado's passenger seat.

Despite his chronic laziness, Sonic was never one to linger under the covers once he was awake. After rushing through a sonic-speed shower – his least favorite part of the day – he returned to the bedroom to find Tails and Amy still in bed yet helping themselves to the fox's supply of apples. Realizing his own hunger and thirst, Sonic gulped a few ounces of water.

"Hey guys, catch!" Sonic suddenly tossed to his two friends his water bottle, which Tails easily caught. After drinking a few sips, he handed it to Amy who did the same and sealed the lid.

Amy needed to get Sonic's attention to throw the bottle back to him. Relaxed after one night's sleep, half her body still below the bed covers, and in the company of her friends, she unexpectedly managed to utter his name.

"S-sonic."

Amy's voice was so soft that Sonic didn't hear it at the other end of the room; yet Tails, still in bed at Amy's side, spun around quickly.

"Amy! Amy, you just talked again! You just said Sonic's name!"

Amy suddenly dropped the bottle and backed away as soon as Tails had moved. His excitement had created a tension in her she hadn't felt when pronouncing Sonic's name.

"This is great!" repeated a smiling Tails. "You've found your voice again! Now we can talk about whatever! So, what's up? What did you wanna say?"

Amy stood frozen. She found she couldn't utter anything else.

"Amy, you just said something, right? Go ahead, you can say whatever you want now!"

Amy shook her head. She sort of held her opened hands in Tails' direction – _never mind_.

Tails looked disappointed. He wasn't sure why Amy wouldn't talk now that she could, and wondered whether Amy wanted to talk to Sonic but not to him (which hurt his feelings).

By this time, Sonic had joined Tails and Amy, wondering what was the matter.

"Sonic, Amy just said something, she just said your name! I think she can talk again!"

Sonic looked at Amy for confirmation, but Amy just nervously shook her head. Sonic studied both her and Tails for a few seconds. Awkwardly scratching his head, he said to Amy: "it's all good, Amy. You're – you're fine. No problem." After a pause, he suggested: "say, Amy, I was thinking, maybe, uh, while – while, um, Tails here and I _have a little chat_" (Sonic sort of choked these last words while briefly glaring at Tails) "you – you'd wanna take a shower or something?"

Amy gave a brief blank stare – Catherine didn't have a shower and used rainwater or water from the well – but snapped out of it when she suddenly remembered the meaning of 'take a shower' from her life before working for Catherine. She nodded to Sonic, made her way to the bathroom and closed the door.

As soon as Amy had disappeared, Tails looked eager again, but Sonic tried to calm him. "Hey, hey! Be cool, be cool," he said softly.

"Sonic," Tails said lowering his voice, "I swear, she found her voice again! She said your name, she said 'Sonic'."

"Okay," Sonic said more seriously, "dude, you gotta understand, you can't – you can't, like, force her to start saying stuff. You just can't start doing shit like that. I don't think she'll start talking if you yell at her."

"But I didn't yell at her!" protested Tails. "I didn't force her to do anything, I was just excited because, uh… you know, I think – well, I thought, yesterday, I was afraid she had a problem with her vocal chords or something like that. Like her voice was just damaged in some way. But, it turns out she still has her voice after all! So, so, I just don't understand, how come she won't talk to us? Does she not like us anymore?"

Sonic sighed. "Okay. Uh, look, little bro, I'm…" Although Tails was 17 now, Sonic still called him 'little bro' each time he either consoled him or gave him a kindly lecture. "I'm not too sure. I don't really know anything about that stuff, about mutes and all. I, uh… I think it's possible some people lose their voice for other reasons. I mean for more, like, emotional reasons. I remember once in the Army, I saw this one veteran who was discharged for medical reasons after being involved in some huge bloody battle, and some guys at the cafeteria said the guy was basically discharged because he had just stopped talking completely, even if physically he was completely fine. And, you know, maybe something a bit similar happened to Amy. We still don't know what she did during these two years. Maybe she went on some missions for these mercenaries and was involved in a lot of violence. It's even possible she had to start killing a bunch of innocent people, or done other stuff that would've left a mark. I'm sure you remember when I tried to ask her about it last night, and how she tried to get me off the subject – there's probably a reason she doesn't wanna talk about what she did. She could've lied to us when she denied having been in crime or, you know, become a mercenary."

Tails looked both sad and confused. "But Sonic – well, maybe you're right, but she still said something… Do you just not believe me?"

"No, I do. I'm sure she did. She also said it once when she called me the other day – that's how I guessed it was her, even if it sounded strange. You're probably right that she hasn't lost her voice physically. But, I don't think she just decides to switch it on and off. Maybe she needs to feel more comfortable with us. We can't just start telling her to talk, you know."

"Okay, sure," Tails mumbled, downcast. "Sonic, I'm kinda wondering, d'you think Amy is, like, angry at us for some reason? You saw how she was yesterday with all that cash… Maybe she's angry because we thought she'd been dead this whole time?"

Sonic sighed. "I don't know, bro. I really don't have all the answers. Maybe she thinks we don't understand her or something. I think we should just be cool with her, and, you know, be patient. And maybe –"

CRASH – Sonic and Tails jumped at the sound coming from the bathroom. They rushed to the closed bathroom door; they couldn't hear anything inside, except the water running.

"What the hell was that?" asked Tails.

Sonic frowned, his ear still on the door. "Amy? Is everything cool in there?" When no answer came, he added: "can we come in? I'm opening the door in like, 10 seconds, alright?"

Ten seconds and another verbal warning later, Sonic opened the bathroom and stepped in to find the bathtub's ripped plastic curtain on the floor; as for Amy, she was sitting stark naked on the bathroom floor, soaked and looking angrily towards the bathtub.

"Whoa whoa! Time out!" Sonic smiled very nervously. "Yo Amy, I know we're all good friends and everything, but, you know, maybe you wanna grab a towel or something," he said, blushing as he handed her a large towel (at arm's length while looking away).

Sonic glanced at the bathtub: the shower was still running, producing much hot vapor in the process. "Oh, I see…" Having not used a shower in years, Amy had forgotten about the hot water: she had just opened the hot tap while in the shower and found some cold water (which suited her); surprised when it turned burning-hot in just two seconds, she had fallen out of the shower, ripping the curtain in the process.

Sonic reattached the curtain and quickly explained about the two taps; Amy sullenly nodded, not looking at Sonic and angry with herself for having forgotten yet another elementary piece of common knowledge. Sonic left the bathroom, giving a sigh as he closed its door.

"So, what happened?" asked Tails.

"Nothing, Amy just forgot about the hot water and fell out of the shower. So anyway, I was saying, we should make sure we show her that we respect her, whatever she might've done. You remember last night, she looked really proud of that money, and I think she was offended when she saw we weren't into it."

"But – but – how on earth can she be proud of that money? How could _anyone_ be proud of it?"

"I'm not saying she should! Well… I don't know. We don't even know where it's from. But just consider that, for example, if Amy's been in crime for two years, her values probably evolved a lot. She obviously picked up some habits we're not used to, and lost a lot of habits that we think are normal. And maybe she was in an environment where a big pile of cash was considered a big achievement."

"Okay…" Tails relented, although he still looked disgusted.

"Look, buddy, let's just be cool with her, that's all. She's just gotta know we like her and want her around. We'll figure out the rest as we go along, you know?"

"Okay, fine. But, in the meantime, where's she gonna stay? I can't put her up – you know I live in a dorm."

Sonic paused for a second – he actually hadn't thought of that. "I guess she'll just stay at my place for now. I know it's kind of a dump, but it'll work out. We'll see – maybe we can ask Winnie and Brad if they have ideas. They know who Amy is, and they said they'd try to help out."

"Cool," said Tails, more hopeful now. "And maybe, for later, you know how Derek and I are looking to rent a house for second semester? And we're looking for 2 or 3 other roommates? Maybe Amy could be one of them. I could talk to Derek about it."

Sonic smiled affectionately. "Sure. But we'll have to see then how she feels about it." He wasn't sure whether it was a good idea, and thought Tails was just excited about having Amy as a roommate, but it was good to leave all options on the table.

A half-hour later, the trio was ready to take off.

"I'm kinda hungry Sonic," Tails complained, "couldn't we get some real food before we split? Maybe they have some breakfast in the lobby."

"We could check it out," Sonic said shrugging. "I just hope it's cheap enough."

Again, Sonic had subconsciously discounted Amy's ridiculous fortune as out-of-bounds. Picking up on that, Amy jerked her thumb towards her chest. She clarified her meaning by performing the hand gesture for tipping, a habit she had discreetly picked up at Catherine's whenever the mercenaries talked about money (which was often).

"Oh – uh – you – you wanna pay for breakfast?"

Amy nodded.

"Okay – okay, okay, that's cool, that's cool. Thanks a lot Amy." After last night's argument, Sonic thought it important to accept Amy's pride in her money for the time being. He would always figure out the truth later and hoped Tails wouldn't protest; his prayer was answered, because Tails remembered Sonic's earlier words and hushed his objection. Anyway, their choice appeared fortunate, because Sonic gladly noted how Amy's resentment from last night concerning her money had abated.

Truly, Amy felt gratified about paying for breakfast and for the motel room. Though still sore that her friends didn't respect her achievement, she was desperate to show some initiative.

After this encouraging conclusion to the trio's stop at the motel, the flight home fully restored Sonic's optimism. While conscious of Amy's need to readjust to Mobian society, Sonic thought he was through the hard part, that of fetching Amy from a dangerous situation in Servinia. With a bit of time and friendship, Amy would most probably find her voice sooner or later and open up to him. As the Tornado descended over the airfield of an outskirt of Mobotropolis, Sonic looked forward to hanging out with his long-lost friend and welcoming her to his simple abode… not fully aware Amy was facing an uphill battle.


End file.
